This invention relates to apparatus for repairing a damaged area in a glass panel.
A number of different methods and devices have been proposed in the past for repairing damaged areas in a glass panel, such as a plate glass window, or the common safety glass which is found in windshields of automobiles. The greatest portion of damage to a glass panel takes the form of a hole of frusto-conical configuration. In plate glass, the hole extends entirely through the glass panel, whereas in safety glass the hole extends to the plastic film which forms an internal lamina in the safety glass. The repair techniques have involved introducing a hardenable resin glass-repair liquid into the damaged area, with such liquid on hardening forming a transparent filler in the damaged area. Exemplary of prior approaches are those enclosed in Shol, U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,366; Forler et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,145; and Hollingsworth, U.S. Pat, No. 3,765,975.
Difficulties have been encountered using prior approaches in repairing glass panels. For instance, using one method, the hardenable repair liquid should be applied in an excess to produce a suitable fill in the damaged area, and this excess must be cut or otherwise removed from the glass near the end of the repair operation. Such is time consuming and difficult to do without leaving evidence on the glass panel of where the repair is located. Equipment utilized in making repairs many times is relatively expensive, and a clean-up problem is presented after the completion of the repair. With most approaches, unless considerable skill is exercised by the person making the repair. Imperfect results are produced.
A general object of this invention is to provide improved apparatus adapted for the making of a repair in a glass panel, which renders the making of the repair relatively simple and performable by persons of only ordinary skill.
Another object is to provide a novel method for repairing a glass panel.
Another object is to provide apparatus for the repair of a damaged area in a glass panel which is effective to produce a repair which on completion is substantially indiscernible on the panel.
Another objective is to provide a glass repair apparatus or kit which may be produced at a relatively low cost and which therefore may be discarded after the making of a repair. This eliminates the necessity of any clean-up in the apparatus used in making the repair.
Another objective is to provide apparatus for the repair of a glass panel which is effective to make a repaired area which will stand up over a long period of time, a particularly important consideration, for instance, in the repair of a windshield which is subject to prolonged periods of vibration during the life of the windshield.